A Perfect Period

However, for someone without the heart of a sword, this was simply a wrinkle blown by the wind, wasn't it?

"Now, do you know the meaning of Vacuum?" Bael chuckled, suddenly looking up and laughing wildly, his laughter incomparably arrogant.

"Saint Sanming! Could it be you?" A gleam of excitement flashed in Bael's eyes. "In the distant future, will you be the one to paint a perfect period for my swordsmanship?"

"Watch yourself!" Sword God Bael raised a finger, its long nail resembling a demon's claw, pointing straight at Saint Sanming's eyes as if able to see through all his hidden thoughts, and said coldly, "Don't be in such a a hurry to die! I hold high hopes for you!"

A powerful suction force directly pulled Saint Sanming's body from several yards away, until his finger stopped right between his eyes.

Saint Sanming saw it: at Bael's fingertips, the vacuum condensed by Haki flickered like a sword blade. It was merely a sword aura the size of a bean, yet it yanked his body from afar. His entire body was bound by the sword aura, unable to move even a little pinky.

And his thoughts, the obsession hidden in the deepest recesses, found no place to hide under the shroud of this sword aura.

Could he tell that I loathe this place and want to destroy Mary Geoise? Saint Sanming's fear at that instant grew beyond measure, but it immediately turned to calmness.

So what? What if there were secrets, what about the thought of destroying the Holy Land?

I am a Celestial Dragons--!

Haki burst forth from Saint Sanming's body, and the figures of the Twelve Gods dissolved into smoke and dust like a collapsed sand sculpture, leaving behind only a slightly satisfied voice: "Continue your training."

Saint Sanming spread his palms, a black vortex spinning in his palm, which then emitted a crisp snap and burst apart. The clothes on his body were instantly torn to shreds, and everything around him was violently yanked toward his palm by an invisible force.

This was a Vacuum!

Saint Sanming remembered that day in the Throne Court, when the Gorosei effortlessly pulled him over from far away—they had used a vacuum!

A black hole was not a place where nothing existed, but rather a place where everything existed and nothing could escape.

Saint Sanming couldn't help but recall what a high monk had once said in a monastery in his past life: all forms and appearances in the world were merely tempers. Observation Haki, Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki—the Buddhist scriptures say form is emptiness. True qi, Haki, spiritual qi—they were all nothing more than tempers, and the strongest was not having a big temper, but having no temper at all! Having a sword in one's heart while holding none in hand, or having no sword in one's heart while holding one in hand, ultimately didn't matter at all, because having could turn into nothing.

Creating something from nothing—that was a Vacuum!

Saint Sanming looked at the ruined training ground and sighed. This training session would be a long one!

For the Boa Sisters, every day that Saint Sanming couldn't return was a long one.

Having lost the towering tree that could protect them, that trembling sensation deep in their hearts kept piling up, growing more and more terrifying.

Finally, the thing they feared arrived. A major event occurred within the Bird Family—Saint Ni had tamed the fish-man Fisher Tiger.

"Wa-ha-ha-ha! Wa-ha-ha-ha!" Almost all of Mary Geoise could hear Saint Ni's smug laughter, because he was riding Fisher Tiger through the streets and alleys of Mary Geoise, visiting almost all the Celestial Dragon nobles to display his martial prowess.

"Did you see? This is what a truly strong slave is! This is what tamed means! He won't die even like this! I do this, like this, and he won't resist at all, wa-ha-ha--!" Saint Ni excitedly displayed his achievement to every World Nobles.

Fisher Tiger's body was bristling with knives of all sizes, though due to his towering stature, they couldn't deal him a fatal injury. Yet no matter who saw such a gigantic fish-man covered in knives while acting as a human mount, they would gasp in astonishment—this was the effect Saint Ni wanted.

"Simply astounding! Saint Ni!" Rosward was riding atop an equally gigantic captain slave, the two of them blocking the middle of the road like this, exchanging mutual flattery.

Since the two families were related by marriage—Saint Rosward being Xia Luqianqian's older brother—it naturally transformed into a reason for celebration.

"Well worth celebrating! This is the most ferocious fish-man ever obtained in Mary Geoise."

"Why not have them fight? Who's stronger, the fish-man or the captain?"

"Let them fight! Let them compete with their bodies covered in knives just the same! Let the others join in too!"

"Good idea, tell them to open the arena and place bets!"

And so a bloody gala began, with a large number of Celestial Dragons bringing their family's most powerful slaves to head toward the Bird Family's arena to enjoy the feast.

Every slave was exceptionally tall, and before entering the arena, they covered their bodies with the exact same number of knives as Fisher Tiger, engaging in a fight to the death amidst the frantic cheers of the Celestial Dragons.

Ultimately, Fisher Tiger won the match without suspense; the fish-man's tenacity and innate strength far surpassed those of humans. Seizing the opportunity of the duel, Tiger drank his fill of water to his heart's content, blasting his opponents down one after another with the Water Shot spewed from his mouth. Corpses piled up like mountains in the arena, and the happy laughter of the Celestial Dragons resounded through the skies. Yet feeling unsatisfied, they proceeded with a lengthy celebratory banquet and side shows.

"Auntie." Saint Charlos and Shalria came to pay their respects to Xia Luqianqian.

"Riya! You're getting prettier and prettier!" Xia Luqianqian was overjoyed. "Saint Charlos, you've turned into a man too!"

Saint Charlos always had a gun tucked at his waist. He sniffed his snot and hummed, "Auntie, I still haven't forgiven Saint Sanming. After all, he went too far last time, and Saint Charlmark has been hurting for over half a year too."

"I didn't say a thing about that tiny injury!" Shalria, however, immediately blocked Saint Charlos, putting on a coy expression toward Xia Luqianqian. "Auntie, why hasn't Imperial Brother Sanming returned yet?"

"Sanming? He was called away by the Gorosei to train," Xia Luqianqian said with a proud expression. "In the future, Sanming is going to become the successor to the Gorosei!"

"Eh? Really? Being a Gorosei means you have to work three hours a day!" Such was Saint Charlos's reaction. "Even as punishment for hitting me, that's way too heavy!"

"Imperial Brother Sanming is amazing!" Stars filled Shalria's eyes.

"If you like him, you can marry Sanming as his wife in the future!" Xia Luqianqian was utterly delighted, especially since Shalria, who usually looked down her nose at everyone, actually favored her son. A marriage between already-related families would also be even more beneficial to the common interests of the Rosward Family and the Bird Family, and they could grow even closer to the Rosward Family.

"How hateful, Auntie!" Shalria showed a rare look of joy. "I wonder if Imperial Brother Sanming will like me."

"Eh? No way?" Charlos felt somewhat displeased. "Shalria, aren't you afraid Sanming will beat you every day?"